The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, on Wednesday met with Bala Mohammed at the Government House in Bauchi amid speculations about the governor’s possible defection from the Peoples Democratic Party.
Yilwatda was joined by Abba Kabir Yusuf. The meeting was held privately, with no official statement made to journalists afterward.
Sources within the Government House indicated the visit may be part of efforts to convince Mohammed to reconsider his reported move to the African Democratic Congress and instead join the APC.
This comes less than 24 hours after the governor, who leads the PDP Governors’ Forum, received a delegation of the ADC led by Babachir Lawal.
Speaking after Tuesday’s meeting, Mohammed blamed his planned defection on the ongoing crisis within the PDP, noting that attempts at reconciliation had failed.
He said, “We have found ourselves in a very serious situation. I have done everything possible to ensure reconciliation, but it has not worked. We set up committees at both the national and state levels to explore all options, including even the APC, but sadly, we discovered that we are not wanted there.”
He added that discussions were ongoing with various political platforms, with the ADC currently appearing as the most favourable option.
“As of now, ADC appears to be a very welcoming and acceptable platform. However, we have not concluded discussions. We are engaging stakeholders to ensure we do not make mistakes,” he said.
Mohammed also said his group feels unwelcome in the APC, which has influenced their consideration of other parties.
“We are not wanted in the APC because we are not being approached, and we tried to get there, but certainly, our antecedents will connect most of the people around us, preferring ADC or other parties than APC.
“If they open up and say we should come to the APC, we will go, but for now, the preference is to move to the opposition party,” he added.